So what?

One day in grade 7, my English teacher came into class looking a little frustrated. He had just read and graded our papers on Great Expectations and was frustrated to see that the majority of the class had written conclusion paragraphs to our essays that were just summaries of what we had written in the body of the essay. Apparently English teachers hate when you do this. 

In response to this, he proceeded to introduce to us the concept of “so what?”

The lesson was: You always want to give your reader or audience a reason to care and something “extra” to take away. So what about what you just wrote? Why is it relevant to the reader? What’s the takeaway? Why would they care? What new idea are you bringing to the table? In this specific case, you want the conclusion of your paper to have a thought that is new and insightful, compared to what was in the body of the essay.

I’ve carried this concept close to me throughout the years and it’s helped me not only in school, but throughout my career and also in life. These two words have been extremely helpful for me in presenting ideas and shaping thoughts with more clarity and direction, and also in finding extra ways to add value for others and myself. 

For example, if I’m sending an email to our retailer partners with our latest catalogue, I’d ask “so what? Why would they care?”. Well, they’d care if there were new products that their clients would be specifically interested in, that would lead to increased sales or enhanced client service. Or if there were products that would be specifically complementary to their current assortment. Or products that were higher margin. In this case, in the body of the email, I’d highlight the products that would be especially relevant to them and why I think it would contribute positively to their overall goals as a retailer. 

Another example: In my investment banking days, if I found an industry report or article that I thought would be relevant and interesting to someone in my group, I would send it but also add a short cover email that had a brief insight or takeaway by me. The takeaway ideally would link the relevancy of the article to the recipient of the email. The key is not to assume that the recipient or reader is automatically going to care just because you sent it. You need to spell it out directly for them. 

In the last few years, not only have I used “so what?” in many applications with my team and with our other stakeholders at Threads, but I’ve also used this concept when I read non-fiction, pausing at the end of salient chapters or sections and asking myself the question: “So what? How does this apply to me and how can I take this information and use it for good in my own life?”. 

And the “so what?” for this post? Hopefully this simple two-word question is something you can try asking yourself the next time you’re about to send an email, share a report, or simply consume a piece of content that you find interesting.